LRCT is looking for a
full-time, year-round, Conservation Easement Steward. This person
will be responsible for the stewardship and management of conservation
easements held by LRCT, reporting to the Land and Stewardship Director.
Their responsibilities will include planning and implementing
conservation easement monitoring, training and oversight of volunteers,
interns, and/or other staff engaged in these activities, and preparation
and maintenance of conservation easement records. This position is
vital to ensuring that LRCT fulfills its conservation easement
responsibilities and meets or exceeds the requirements of the Land Trust
Alliance (LTA) Standards and Practices. Click here for more
information:
Job Description–LRCT Conservation Easement Steward 1-13-18

2018 Lakes Region Conservation Corps – AmeriCorps Program

In 2018, LRCT will be
hosting six LRCC-LRCT members for 22.5 weeks from May though October.
Members will work on a variety of projects including maintaining LRCT’s
95+ miles of trails, acting as island and property hosts at LRCT’s
conservation properties, leading guided excursions and other educational
and outreach opportunities, working on special property management
projects such as construction of bridges and kiosks, updating property
boundary markings and signage, monitoring conservation easements,
removing invasive terrestrial plants, and conducting property research
and property record keeping projects. LRCC-LRCT members will
receive training in land conservation methods, conservation and
recreational land management, and education and outreach.

The Lakes Region
Conservation Trust (LRCT) is an independent, nonprofit,
member-supported organization dedicated to the permanent protection,
stewardship, and respectful use of lands that define the character of
the region and its quality of life. LRCT protects more than 25,000
acres of land in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. These lands
encompass more than 95 miles of trails, more than 5 islands, numerous
mountain summits, and a host of other destinations that are open to the
public. LRCT is a nationally Accredited Land Trust and an active
member of the Land Trust Alliance and NH Land Trust Coalition.

Dan Tinkham has lived in Gilford, New Hampshire, for over 30 years and has
enjoyed many years of hiking in the Belknaps. Dan is a consulting hydrogeologist
and has led a variety of geologic discussions and hikes around the Belknaps. He
has been very active with the Belknap Range Trail Tenders (BRATTS) for over 10
years and is currently the President of the group, so he maintains a great
interest in the status of the extensive hiking trail network that so many enjoy.

Matt Tarr is a professional forester and wildlife biologist. He is the statewide
Wildlife Specialist for the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
where he works in close cooperation with the NH Fish and Game Department to help
landowners and communities throughout NH conserve and manage wildlife habitat on
public and private land. Matt has lived in the NH Lakes region for over 15 years
and has spent countless hours on the trails, woods, and wetlands in the Belknap
Range.

Guinea Ridge Land Celebration and Guided Hike

On Saturday, September 9th, the Belknap Range Conservation Coalition
(BRCC) and the Lakes Region Conservation Trust (LRCT) welcomed land conservation
enthusiasts to celebrate two LRCT land conservation projects in the BRCC Focus
Area and along the headwaters of the Suncook River in Gilmanton. These projects
are the 124-acre Rendall Conservation Easement and the abutting 88-acre former
Fenollosa property, which lie between Guinea Ridge Road and the Griswold Scout
Reservation (Camp Bell and Hidden Valley Camp) just downstream from Manning Lake
and Lake Eileen.

The program began with light refreshments and
recognition for these projects and for the people who made them possible, Nancy
Rendall and Marilyn and Michael Fenollosa. This was followed by a guided hike on
the conserved land led by Nancy Rendall. The Rendall Conservation Easement
property encompasses significant parts of a large wetland complex below the
outlets of Lake Eileen and Manning Lake, and includes riparian buffer and a
perennial stream system that is part of the headwaters of the Suncook River. The
property also includes fieldstone house and barn foundations and fieldstone
walls marking intensive agricultural use in the past. The conservation easement
was donated to LRCT by Nancy Rendall, and the property is now owned by the
Fenollosas. The former Fenollosa parcel contains what was the last unprotected
portion of a significant wetland and stream system that is part of the Suncook
River headwaters, and approximately one-third of the parcel is classified as
highest ranked habitat in the state under the NH Wildlife Action Plan. When the
land was in danger of being sold for development, Marilyn and Mike Fenollosa
stepped forward to acquire and hold it for more than a year until funding for
LRCT’s acquisition could be secured. Nancy Rendall donated professional services
for project planning and wetlands assessment needed to obtain grant funding, and
the effort came to a successful conclusion when LRCT received the necessary
grant from the NH Department of Environmental Services Aquatic Resource
Mitigation Fund. BRCC and its partner, LRCT, are very grateful to Nancy Rendall
and the Fenollosas for their generosity and dedication to the success of these
projects, as well as to the ARM Fund for its support for the Fenollosa project. LRCT’s conservation of these key parcels builds on other conservation
achievements in the BRCC Belknap Range Focus Area in recent years involving LRCT,
the Society for the Protection of NH Forests, and other BRCC partners committed
to conservation of the extraordinary scenic, natural, recreational, and
historical resources of the Belknaps.

Dave Roberts

November 9, 1935 - March 29, 2017

Dave Roberts, a
founding member and director of BRCC, passed away on March 29, 2017. An
avid hiker and mountain climber, Dave was also involved with the Lakes Region
Conservation Trust and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

Dave spent decades
exploring the Belknap Range, marking existing trails, blazing new trails, and
marking the location of numerous natural and historic features. Using
early GPS technology, Dave generated the first hiking trail maps of the Range.
Current Belknap Range trail maps, which can be found on this site, are basically
updates of Dave's original maps.

Dave was known as
"dcr" on the popular
www.winnipesaukee.com Forum, where he posted over 1,400 beautiful
photos in the PhotoPost section of the site. He posted many photos of
mountain scenes for the enjoyment and education of the Forum viewers. In
many of his photos he labeled each mountain peak for the benefit of the viewers.
Here is one of Dave's mountain view photos:

Dave will be
missed by his many friends, acquaintances, and anyone who happened to meet him
along the Belknap Range trails.

LRCT Recent and Current Land Projects

Additional 273 Acres on Piper
Mountain Conserved

Lakes Region
Conservation Trust (LRCT) and the Gilford Conservation Commission worked
together to conserve 273 acres on Piper Mountain in Gilford. This property
encompasses Piper’s open summit (elevation 2,044′), the surrounding
unfragmented forest and wild habitat, and parts of key hiking trails.

View from Piper Mt.

(Rick
Van de Poll Photo)

Contiguous to
thousands of acres of conserved land, the Piper Mountain parcel has long
been a conservation priority. This project will ensure that Piper Mountain’s
wildness and scenery, popular trials, and magnificent views of surrounding
mountains and lakes can be enjoyed by all for generations to come.

Click on map for printable PDF

Anyone who has
hiked on Piper Mountain or elsewhere in the Belknaps, or who enjoys the
views of the Belknaps from around the region, can attest to the beauty of
this landscape. YOU were the key to permanently protecting a critical part
of this landscape.